HELP US END MASS INCARCERATION The Prison Policy Initiative uses research, advocacy, and organizing to dismantle mass incarceration. We’ve been in this movement for 20 years, thanks to individual donors like you.

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Thank you,
Peter Wagner, Executive Director Donate

What’s New

New reentry simulator highlights the perils of life after prison “ReEntry” was created by formerly incarcerated people to communicate the contradictions, difficult decisions, and unexpected events that make staying out of prison nearly impossible for people under community supervision.

December 5: Prison Policy Initiative Blog
32 reforms to the criminal legal system ripe for victory in 2024 New report highlights actionable solutions that will shrink the size of the carceral system, promote public safety, and take action on racial inequities in the system.

November 29: Press releases
Making the grade: New report grades states on their 2020 redistricting processes — including whether they ended prison gerrymandering Report highlights growing bipartisan support for counting incarcerated people in their home communities.

November 9: Prisoners of the Census Blog
Guilty by association: When parole and probation rules disrupt support systems Requiring people on supervision to avoid others with criminal legal system contact can actually hinder their success in the community. We found that it’s common for probation and parole agencies to impose these “association” restrictions, tearing apart critical social networks and threatening to lock people up for harmless — and even helpful — interactions.

November 8: Briefings
Not an alternative: The myths, harms, and expansion of pretrial electronic monitoring The expansion of pretrial electronic monitoring across 70 counties threatens to undermine Illinois’ groundbreaking Pretrial Fairness Act, despite both the lack of evidence of EM’s efficacy and its well-documented flaws and harms.

October 30: Briefings
Ten statistics about the scale and impact of mass incarceration in the U.S. A curated list of some of the most useful statistics to help the public comprehend the magnitude of criminalization in the U.S.

October 24: Prison Policy Initiative Blog
New resource: Prison discipline policies Our collection of prison discipline policies covers all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and the Federal Bureau of Prisons, and highlights how each system classifies the severity of offenses and punishments.

October 17: Prison Policy Initiative Blog
No Release: Parole grant rates have plummeted in most states since the pandemic started Among the 27 states we surveyed, only 7 saw an increase in parole approval rate, and almost every state held substantially fewer hearings than in years past.

October 16: Briefings
Webinar: Combating “carveouts” in criminal justice reforms Learn strategies to convince policymakers to adopt reforms that help all people tangled in the criminal legal system.

October 12: Prison Policy Initiative Blog

Featured reports

All Profit, No Risk: How the bail industry exploits the legal system

Our report exposes how commercial bail companies and their deep-pocketed insurance underwriters almost always avoid accountability when they fail to do their one job: ensure their clients’ appearance in court. The report explains how the bail industry exploits — and works to expand — six loopholes in the system that allow it to avoid paying up when defendants don’t show up. The money bail system is not only cruel to defendants (as our 2016 report Detaining the Poor showed); as our report shows, it is also corrupt beyond repair.

Mass incarceration, state by state

Learn about the national prison crisis and how we can begin to turn the tide on mass incarceration. Then, drill down to your state. Be sure to also check out our pages focused on D.C., and the incarceration of Native people.

If our work is new to you, you might want to check out our 2022-2023 annual report.

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What’s New

New reentry simulator highlights the perils of life after prison “ReEntry” was created by formerly incarcerated people to communicate the contradictions, difficult decisions, and unexpected events that make staying out of prison nearly impossible for people under community supervision.

32 reforms to the criminal legal system ripe for victory in 2024 New report highlights actionable solutions that will shrink the size of the carceral system, promote public safety, and take action on racial inequities in the system.

Making the grade: New report grades states on their 2020 redistricting processes — including whether they ended prison gerrymandering Report highlights growing bipartisan support for counting incarcerated people in their home communities.

Ten statistics about the scale and impact of mass incarceration in the U.S. A curated list of some of the most useful statistics to help the public comprehend the magnitude of criminalization in the U.S.

New resource: Prison discipline policies Our collection of prison discipline policies covers all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and the Federal Bureau of Prisons, and highlights how each system classifies the severity of offenses and punishments.

No Release: Parole grant rates have plummeted in most states since the pandemic started Among the 27 states we surveyed, only 7 saw an increase in parole approval rate, and almost every state held substantially fewer hearings than in years past.

Webinar: Combating “carveouts” in criminal justice reforms Learn strategies to convince policymakers to adopt reforms that help all people tangled in the criminal legal system.

Featured reports

All Profit, No Risk: How the bail industry exploits the legal system

Mass incarceration, state by state

Stay Informed

Recommended Reading:

Advocacy Toolkit

50 state incarceration profiles

Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie

Exploitation in the criminal justice system